| Sky Like a Broken Clock | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 10, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | February 6–13, 2001, Long View Farm | |||
| Genre | Blues, country blues | |||
| Label | Rykodisc | |||
| Producer | George Howard | |||
| Kelly Joe Phelps chronology | ||||
| ||||
Sky Like a Broken Clock is an album by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 2001. It reached #8 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums charts.
Sky Like A Broken Clock was recorded live in the studio with no overdubs. It is Phelps' first record to feature no traditional material, only his own original compositions. Phelps' first releases were essentially his voice and the voice of his slide guitar. He assembled a band and put aside the slide guitar to focus on his fingerpicking style for this release. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Minor 7th | (favorable) [2] |
| No Depression | (no rating) [3] |
| PopMatters | (no rating) [4] |
| The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings | [5] |
Music critic Travis Draeset wrote in his Allmusic review "The result is a set of low-key, abstract story-songs about voodoo, sin, and prostitution, with "Worn Out," the album's closer, having a lullaby-like quality. Phelps' guitar work on this album is fairly straightforward (unfortunately not featuring his signature acoustic slide)." [1] Minor 7th also noted the lack of Phelps' slide guitar and wrote: "The great news is that it's great music nonetheless, like discovering a brand-new artist... The abstractions that Phelps captures here are not those of musical notes, but of words forming oblique and cryptic, often dark, narratives." [2]
Buzz McClain of No Depression noted the spontaneity of the recording, writing "The result is understandably raw and primitive, evocative and emotionally effective, made the more so by Phelps’ weary voice and his precise fingerpicking, which is every bit as impressive as his slide... This is a mature piece of art, made all the more poignant by the pick-up nature of an ensemble that, somehow, sounds strikingly seasoned." [3]
PopMatters critic Fred Kovey is equivocal, writing: "Phelps does everything right, but it isn’t quite enough. His style of Blues and Celtic influenced singer-songwriting has become so identified with adult contemporary that just being good isn’t enough to pull the casual fan from his torpor... Phelps is an excellent guitar player. More than anything else, his skill with an acoustic six string is what makes him special. But to appreciate his guitar playing you’ll have to listen to the songs over and over; fans may want to, but I doubt the same is true of casual listeners... It offers the pleasure of viewing a master craftsman at work, but that pleasure isn’t quite enough." [4]
All songs written by Kelly Joe Phelps.
Merle Robert Travis was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic exploitation of American coal miners. Among his many well-known songs and recordings are "Sixteen Tons", "Re-Enlistment Blues", "I am a Pilgrim" and "Dark as a Dungeon". However, it is his unique guitar style, still called "Travis picking" by guitarists, as well as his interpretations of the rich musical traditions of his native Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, for which he is best known today. Travis picking is a syncopated style of guitar fingerpicking rooted in ragtime music in which alternating chords and bass notes are plucked by the thumb while melodies are simultaneously plucked by the index finger. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1977.
Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking. The term "fingerstyle" is something of a misnomer, since it is present in several different genres and styles of music—but mostly, because it involves a completely different technique, not just a "style" of playing, especially for the guitarist's picking/plucking hand. The term is often used synonymously with fingerpicking except in classical guitar circles, although fingerpicking can also refer to a specific tradition of folk, blues and country guitar playing in the US. The terms "fingerstyle" and "fingerpicking" are also applied to similar string instruments such as the banjo.
Tony Furtado is an American singer-songwriter, banjoist, and guitarist.
Down the Road I Go is American country music artist Travis Tritt's seventh studio album. It was released on October 3, 2000, his first album for Columbia Records. The tracks "Best of Intentions", "It's a Great Day to Be Alive", "Love of a Woman", and "Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde" were released as singles. "It's a Great Day to Be Alive" was originally recorded in 1996 by Jon Randall for an album which was never released. "Best of Intentions" was a Number One hit for him, and his first chart-topper since "Foolish Pride" in 1994. The album is certified Platinum for sales of over 1,000,000.
Closing In on the Fire is an album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on the small Ark 21 Records label on June 16, 1998. It features contributions from several celebrities associated with both country and rock music. The selections include, among others, Sting's "She's Too Good for Me" and Tony Joe White's title track, creating a greater degree of musical eclecticism than in many previous Jennings releases. The singer incorporated elements of genres such as blues and rock, in addition to traditional country ballads. "Best Friends of Mine," an autobiographical song, is a tribute to Buddy Holly, Hank Williams Jr. and Jim Garchow minor league baseball team who was one of Jennings' close friends from Waylon's days in Phoenix. Carl Smith, one of Jennings's idols, appears on "Untitled Waltz." In an interview the singer mentioned that he wasn't fully satisfied with his take on The Rolling Stones' "No Expectations", calling it "a little more contrived than I would have liked." An interview featuring Jennings commenting on the record is included as a bonus track. Closing In on the Fire, Jennings' 72nd release, reached #71 on the country charts and was the last studio album by the singer to be released before his death in 2002.
Kelly Joe Phelps was an American musician and songwriter. His music has been characterized as a mixture of delta blues and jazz.
Slant 6 Mind is the title of the fourteenth principal album release by American folk singer/guitarist Greg Brown, released in 1997.
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Tap the Red Cane Whirlwind is an album by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps. It reached number 11 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums.
Tunesmith Retrofit is an album by American blues/folk singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 2006. It was his first recording on the Rounder label after five releases with Rykodisc. It reached #5 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums charts.
Shine Eyed Mister Zen is the third album by American blues artist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 1999.
Roll Away the Stone is an album by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 1997. It was his first release on the Rykodisc label and reached #10 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums charts.
Lead Me On is the debut album of American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps. It is his first release on the Burnside label before moving to Rykodisc Records.
Beggar's Oil is an EP by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 2002.
Sittin' Here Pickin' the Blues is the title of a recording by American folk music and country blues artists Doc Watson and Merle Watson, released in 2004. It contains songs taken from albums that Doc and Merle recorded on the Flying Fish label in the 1980s. It contains all the songs from Pickin' the Blues, three from Doc and Merle Watson's Guitar Album, three from Red Rocking Chair and a live version of "Deep River Blues".
Western Bell is an album by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released 2009. Unlike his previous albums, Western Bell is entirely instrumental. After five discs on Rykodisc and one for Rounder, Phelps joined Black Hen Music, a small independent record label founded in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Dave Peabody is an English singer-songwriter, blues and folk musician, record producer and photographer, active since the late 1960s, who has appeared on more than 60 albums. He is primarily known for his acoustic guitar playing, in both bottleneck and fingerpicking styles.
6- and 12-String Guitar is the second album by Leo Kottke, a solo instrumental steel-string acoustic guitar album originally released by John Fahey's Takoma Records in 1969. It is popularly known as the Armadillo album after the animal illustrated in the distinctive cover art. Although Kottke has had a prolific career as a recording artist, 6- and 12-String Guitar remains his best-known album.
Brother Sinner and the Whale is an album by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 2012. It was recorded in mono with only voice and guitar.
Stefan Grossman is an American acoustic fingerstyle guitarist and singer. His discography consists of 22 studio albums, 2 live albums, 12 compilations, 22 videos, and 14 collaborations with other artists. In addition, his production, compositions and guitar work have been featured on a number of albums by other artists.
